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Aug 12, 2018

Indian PM Modi confident of bigger win in 2019 elections

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would be re-elected with an even bigger majority in parliament in 2019
But Modi said voters wanted a strong and decisive central government to deliver on India’s promise as a big economy
MUMBAI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would be re-elected
with an even bigger majority in parliament in 2019, dismissing
opposition attempts to rouse opinion against his government for failing
to deliver on promises of swift economic development and more jobs for
young people.
Modi told the Times of India in an interview published on Sunday that
his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government is committed to
improving the lives of all citizens regardless of faith.
Concerns have grown that his administration has been unable to rein in
right-wing fringe groups that are trying to undermine India’s secular
constitution by targeting the nation’s large Muslim minority.
“We will definitely get more seats than we got the last time and I am
confident that we will break all records of the seats won by NDA
(National Democratic Alliance) in the past and achieve greater glory.
“The people are with us and we have nothing to fear,” Modi told the newspaper in an email interview.
Opinion polls show he remains the front runner to win another five-year
term, but the party has suffered reverses in some local elections in the
past few months that have energized the opposition.
The BJP failed to win power in southern Karnataka in May, the first big
state to elect a new assembly this year in a contest widely seen as a
test of its popularity after four years in office. It also lost a few
races in the big heartland state of Uttar Pradesh in the north.
But Modi said voters wanted a strong and decisive central government to
deliver on India’s promise as a big economy and one of the potential
drivers of global growth.
“My platform will be development, fast development and development for
all...We have worked very hard in the last four years and we will go to
the people with our track record of development,” Modi said.
The opposition, led by the Congress party, is trying to pull together a
grand alliance of regional parties and even communist groups to mount a
joint campaign against Modi, who is seen as a divisive figure pushing a
partisan, Hindu-first agenda.
Attacks on Muslims who are engaged in the cattle trade by Hindu
vigilante groups who are opposed to the slaughter of cows have fueled
fears that the government is either unable or unwilling to restrain
them.
Modi’s party denies any bias against Muslims and he told the Times of
India that his government believes in equality in the rule of law for
all citizens.
The BJP won 282 seats in the 2014 general election, giving it a simple
majority in the lower house of Parliament. The BJP-led National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 336 seats out of 543.
The opposition last month moved a no-confidence vote against the
government but Modi easily survived thanks to his parliamentary
majority.